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Accommodating communication

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, states and territories need to collect details about their patients, including whether a person is Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander [1].The information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations is getting better, but there are still limitations.Information has been drawn from up-to-date sources to create a picture of the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia (including information for the states and territories: New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (Vic), Queensland (Qld), Western Australia (WA), South Australia (SA), Tasmania (Tas), the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT).Sources include government reports, particularly those produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).Sometimes health services are not culturally appropriate (which means they do not consider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and the specific needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people).Also, some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may not be able to use some services because they are too expensive.The NT had the highest percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in its population. Indigenous people made up 3.1% of the total Australian population. Estimated Indigenous population, by state/territory and Australia, 30 June 2016 Source: Derived from ABS, 2014 [6], ABS, 2016 [7] In 2016, around one-third of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lived in major cities, almost one half lived in inner and outer regional areas and one in five lived in remote and very remote areas [6].The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people counted in the 2011 Census was much higher than the number counted in the 2006 Census [8] [9].

This helps our clients meet the growing demand for robust communications in the non-profit world.

This could be because: In 2011, 90% of Indigenous people identified as Aboriginal, 6% identified as Torres Strait Islander and 4% identified as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander [10].

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is much younger overall than the non-Indigenous population (Derived from [6] [11]).

Many health services are not as accessible and user-friendly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as they are for non-Indigenous people, adding to higher levels of disadvantage.

Sometimes this is because more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than non-Indigenous live in remote locations and not all health services are offered outside of cities.